This is a very good end to a very fun series. This is Catriona's story, but it also ties in and finishes the other girls' stories. While this is not my favorite installment, there is something very satisfying about it.

Catriona is having a nice swim when she is startled to find a stranger staring at her. It turns out that her father's expected visitor has turned up early. And found her swimming naked in the nearby loch. He is meant to be doing research and needs access to the collections housed at Oxford. That sets up this storyline.

This series is quite fluffy but has enough substance to not be annoying. I definitely recommend it, even if only for the entertainment value.

"It was as though a woman could have either a brain or a heart, and whichever way, she was allowed only half a life"

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my digital ARC

I have enjoyed every book in A League of Extraordinary Women series so far but The Gentleman's Gambit ended up being the one I enjoyed the most. I was always intrigued by quiet, introverted Catriona with her shy confidence and brilliant mind behind the innocent disposition, she is by far the most complexly constructed and developed character in this series. Catriona managed to perfectly portray an array of things woman have been struggling even to this day from generations past, being pulled in too many direction as we are forced to wear quite a few hats in order to please others, often forgetting what our own heart wants. I loved how she constantly pushed herself to break the barriers that were firmly placed by the patriarchal society around her and managing to pull off things that no body could possibly accomplish in that age and time

The books is fast paced and quite entertaining to the very end, while it is unsurprisingly brimmed with historical elements it is surprisingly also the spiciest romance of all the four books to me personally.I thought Evie Dunmore did an excellent job of balancing both history and romance in this installment, Elias's character is just as well done as Catriona's, his struggle as an immigrant whose heart is torn between two different places resonates with so many of us even in this day. I loved his jovial and charming nature and how he always brings the best, authentic self out of Catriona, their romance is not only a whirlwind but quite unconventional yet was thoroughly enjoyable

Another thing I loved is the appearance of all the four women through out the book, it was so fun to witness glimpses of their lives in this book. The last chapter and epilogue definitely made me emotional as I bid a bittersweet goodbye to this lovely conclusion to this phenomenal series

Review will be posted on Forever Young Adult's blog on 12/5/23

First Impressions: Misleading

I appreciate that all the covers have a similar design and style, even if, at this point, their cheery colors and cartoon drawings don’t really match up with the more serious tone of the novels themselves.

What’s Your Type?

Academics In Love
Class Differences
Forbidden Love
Heists
Neurodivergent Heroines
Feminism
Social Activism
Dating Profile

Elias Khoury is a Lebanese anti-Indiana Jones—he’s out there traveling the world stealing artifacts to return them back to the people they were taken from in the first place. He comes from a family of merchants with a head for business, and he’s been gone from his home in the Levant so long he isn’t quite sure where he belongs anymore. His latest acquisitions are currently being held in the storeroom at St. John’s College, and it’s going to take some sucking up to a scholarly Scottish Earl to gain access.

Catriona Campbell, daughter of said Scottish Earl, has always felt like the odd one out, even when she’s among her dear friends in the suffragist movement. As someone who is easily overwhelmed by interactions with people, Catriona would love nothing more than to be left alone forever to read and write her scholarly works.

Meet Cute: Lady Of The Lake

Growing up in the Scottish Highlands without a mother meant that Catriona has always been a bit more “wild” than some other ladies she knows, who would, for example, never dare to swim naked in a pond even on the teeniest off-chance someone would see them. Someone like the impossibly gorgeous Elias, who decided to do some bird watching after arriving early for his visit with Catriona’s father and got QUITE an eyeful of a naked bird of the non-feathered variety. Talk about an uncomfortable dinner after everyone gets back to the castle! It only gets worse when the Earl gets called away on estate business and asks Catriona to accompany Elias to the College.

The Lean: Smart Is Sexy

There are many things (supposedly) that make a union between Catriona and Elias make zero sense, so despite any attraction they may feel (and there’s plenty), they are penned in by propriety and their own personal expectations of what their lives and their loves should look like. I think Dunmore struck a good balance between the pining and the actual relationship, so both sides who prefer one or the other in their books should be happy with this courtship.

Dirty Talk

In books, it’s an actual fact that sexy times are always sexier when what’s happening is currently forbidden. During their first make-out-and-a-bit-more:

She gripped the warm cotton fabric of his shirt for purchase, and he glanced down at her, his gaze black; his throat sheened with sweat. He’d be like this in bed, above her, steadily moving back-and-forth between her thighs, filling her with frantic energy. “It’s as though we are doing it,” she said, her voice high and strained.

“Not even close,” he ground out, but the image she had painted derailed his rhythm.

And when the, ah, partial deeds are done:

Elias cupped the curve of her heated cheek in his hand. “We will not do this again,” he said.

They took measure of each other’s damp faces and turbulent eyes, and without any more words being exchanged they both knew that they would absolutely do this again.

YES, YOU WILL, YOU SEXY CREATURES.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose

The day after their first assignation, our couple is playing their usual game of chess—partially as an excuse to meet, because the olden days sucked majorly for personal freedom. I declare things also get an indeterminate amount of sexier when the couple can converse in public in another language to be able to flirt talk about their feelings without anyone else knowing:

Don’t deny me, she thought stupidly. Kiss me again. For a moment, neither seemed to know what to say. Last evening, her numbness after an overwhelm had proven useful: she had fixed her hair in front of Elias’s mirror, and she had returned to Hall in time for pudding. She had reinstated a cordial relationship with Leighton and Miss Regina, and they had furthered their plans to put the Ashmolean pieces into the British Museum. All throughout, she had seen Elias’s face , taut with dark desire as he rocked against her.

Elias’s eyelids lowered. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said in Arabic.

She pressed her lips together, feeling caught. “Like what.”

“Like you did last evening, in my room.”

“I wasn’t,” she said, her tone convincingly prim.

MacKenzie’s needles clanged like foils coming together. MacKenzie, who always seemed to be with her these days, always watching from under critical brows.

We Need To Talk: A Respectable Wrap-Up

I have been waiting for this book for what feels like FOREVER. After the third book in the series was just fine for me, I was a bit apprehensive about how this one would go. Luckily, there was much to love! I really enjoyed Elias and Catriona as characters on their own, and their personal journeys to resolve what was holding them back from being together made sense and were thoughtfully laid out.

Dunmore’s series, from its start, has always been romance AND historical fiction, in that she gives deference to both subjects, and that was no different for The Gentlemen’s Gambit. Securing women’s rights in the eyes of the law is still a big plot point, but special attention is given to the topic of colonizing thievery and the damage it causes to the people who lose their right to be themselves and celebrate their culture. It’s a centuries-long and still on-going issue, and I did find it interesting that this is the second new release I’ve read this year that deals with the topic of returning cultural artifacts to their people. (New publishing trend alert?)

There may still be a bit “too much” emphasis on the non-romance parts of the book for some readers, but there are a ton of frivolous and fun historical romances still out there, so I’m happy that Dunmore continues to give us these occasional palate cleansers.

Was It Good For You? Checkmate

The epilogue flashes forward decades in the future to tell us where our quartet of friends ended up, and it was a sweet moment that brings all four women’s stories to a close, letting us know that Dunmore is officially moving on from the series. There have been a few ups and downs, but overall I’m very happy with the time I spent with these extraordinary women.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Berkley Books. I received neither money nor peanut butter cups in exchange for this review. The Gentlemen’s Gambit is available now.

I'm sad to leave this quartet of women with the end of this series. I appreciated the introspective and thoughtful aspects as well as the humour mixed in. The scenes where Elias teases Catriona about her failed attempt at making baba ghanoush and when Annabelle, Hattie and Catriona inform Peregrin where he'll be going were a delight to read.

Getting to delve deep into Catriona's character was worth the wait. Given the little you do know, you really don't know what to expect in The Gentleman's Gambit. She is finally revealed here as someone who has often felt awkward and out of place. Those experiences led her to hide her gifts to better function in society. As she becomes more and more involved with Elias, she considers her place in society and whether she can pursue her interests and be married in a world where women are relegated to the home. The questions she dealt with, in comparison to the other three novels, felt like they addressed readers directly. They certainly provoked a lot of self-reflection for me.

Catriona and Elias come from vastly different worlds, yet they want the same type of companionship -- one with an equal partner or, as Elias described it, a haven in a stormy sea. They began with mutual attraction and then, upon becoming better acquainted, recognized traits in each other that each person valued. Both felt like outsiders in their respective societies and were shaped by disappointing experiences with crushes. Evie Dunmore created the ideal mate for Catriona. From their walk after the fire drill to his response when she compared herself to a misshapen tree, he tried to find a way to help or understand her. He let her be herself and genuinely liked her for what she was. It was lovely to read his impressions of her in the chapters from his perspective.

It's really too bad that Catriona and Elias don't have their own epilogue that shows them later on in their relationship. I liked that the epilogue wrapped up the entire series with the women achieving the vote but it could have been a bonus add-on to the book or released digitally on its own as a download. I also didn't understand why Elias and Blackstone aren't in the epilogue either. By only including Sebastian and Montgomery, the story felt a little incomplete. The chapters that featured the other three couples fit better with the plot of the novel than the epilogue did.

This has been one of my favorite series and it was very bittersweet to see it come to an end. I really enjoyed the second half of the book and the art theft-esque storyline, but the romance in the first half of the book felt rushed, almost like insta-love. Overall I did like this book but was my least favorite of the series.

3.5 STARS

The League of Extraordinary Women #4 in the series.

Catriona Campbell is our main focus in this one. She is living in a remote castle trying to work on her book and stay away from distractions at Oxford like socializing with friends, the suffrage cause and an unrequited crush.

There was quite a bit going on this one and it was more of a slow-burn, but I did enjoy the characters and learning more about Catriona. I enjoyed all the banter between the characters, the new love interest and some funny scenes. Around the halfway mark, the historical info. took over and really bogged down the pace. This series has always had a nice balance of history and romance, but this one was def heavy on the historical politics and antiquities info.

I do love these characters and I am a huge fan of this author. This wasn’t my favorite of the series, but I’m looking forward to reading whatever she writes next. This was the last in this series which makes me sad.

I have loved this series by Evie Dunmore. Portrait of a Scotsman is one of my all time favorite historical romances and I was so looking forward to The Gentleman's Gambit. Sadly, I could not get into this one. I didn't feel any chemistry between Catriona and Elias. I tried and skimmed up until about 30% before I decided to DNF.

The final book in the League of Extraordinary Women series focuses on shy, scholarly Catriona Campbell. Elias Khoury, a young man who wishes to return cultural artifacts to his home country, comes to Scotland to meet with Catriona's father in hopes of persuading him to help. We learn a lot about how cultural artifacts were removed from their countries and the struggle to have these artifacts returned. Readers who have enjoyed the previous books in this series should enjoy this final entry, which ties up the series nicely.

I'm sorry! Look, it's probably just me. Right book, right person, right time, all that, but...this just doesn't spark for me. Also there was very little chess, just saying.

I have loved the other books by this author but this one was so difficult to get in to! Not my favorite.

Megan F <megpfink@gmail.com>
6:26 PM (3 minutes ago)
to me

Fascinating historical romance with a character who is neurodivergent. Evie Dunmore has written several books about the suffragette movement in England and this book follows Catriona, one of the supporting characters from the series. She was always a side character in the series. Without specifying a particular diagnosis, Evie Dunmore gives Catriona a sympathetic perspective about her disappointment in love experiences and her anxiety about becoming a wife and mother. I believe Evie Dunmore is hinting about a sensory processing/anxiety response for Catriona. This appeals to me to have characters with flaws but who are love-able too. I liked the fact that Catriona did not fit the typical heroine stereotype, she had anxiety and probably sensory processing issues and she was intelligent.
Elias was a delightful character and very attractive as written!! And the love interest of Elias was fascinating for information about Beruit and the political situation in the turn of the century. The inclusion of art history and the issue of stolen art treasures is another important aspect. The history of artifacts was fascinating. I enjoyed the several themes of history, politics, racism, globalization and suffrage of course. The romance was very passionate and you cheer for Catriona and Elias to defy the stereotypes. Evie Dunmore brings in some of the other main heroines like Annabelle and Hattie and Lucie in the final chapters. It seemed a bit abrupt switching over from C & E’s storyline. However, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the victory for women’s rights in England. And since it’s the final book I understand why we needed to know if the characters were actually successful in their quest for voting rights. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance e-galley.

An excellent end to a great series! I loved seeing not only Catriona finding her match but also catching up with all of the other suffragettes to see how they and their partners are doing. Also, the sexual tension in this one is several fire emojis in a trenchcoat.

Evie wrote the perfect ending to her series! I truly have no notes. As a Turkish reader and writer myself, the conversations around the Ottoman Empire and British imperialism and what all that meant for local communities was a depth that I appreciated with my entire being. Elias and Catriona were a perfect couple, and the pacing of their love was *chef's kiss.* Can't wait to read what Evie writes next!!!

Catriona finally gets a man in this fourth installment of A League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore! I really liked the relationship between Catriona and Elias. He was a great match for her and he was perfect for helping her through all her struggles and fears. The plot surrounding the heist of artifacts was really interesting and it's a very good point to bring up about having antiquities in their place of origin instead of in the conquering nation's museums. The suffragist plotline kind of felt flat to me in this book, it felt more like the author was info dumping instead of integrating it into the story more seamlessly, but Dunmore writes very well and I didn't want to put this book down until I found out what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this final installment in the series after having serious problem with book 3- luckily Evie has fully redeemed herself for me! This was a delight to read, and the epilogue was wonderful.

I really really wanted to like this one more than I did, but alas the fourth installment in this series was a bit of a let down. I absolutely adored the first two books in this series, but the third and now this fourth one didn't hit me as the initial books did. This is not to say that this book was bad per say (and if you've read the others, you MUST continue on!) but there were just a few things that left me wanting: (1) Catriona-I emphasize with her character and see a lot of myself in her; I was very excited to see her story so having to read chapters dedicated to the other characters lessened her impact as the heroine in this story, (2) Dialogue and pacing-in parts the dialogue felt too modern/awkward ("they were doing it..."-maybe there could be a better word choice for sex here) and the pacing was occasionally very slow, or very fast (from one paragraph to the next a whole week went by)...which contributed to a me feeling a lack of chemistry between the Catriona and Elias. (3) Elias- he was a very nice hero, I loved their meet-cute and the history and diversity he brings to the story but he was just kind of well...boring. I was hoping there would be more angst and blushing between the both of them before they slept together. As usual I did enjoy the history, the epilogue was great, the message for women's rights and repatriation of historical objects were wonderful, and overall Dunmore's romance writing was well crafted.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this ARC!

2.5 stars? This series has been a little bit all over the place, and I was disappointed with this. I had it in my mind that I was ready to be done with this series, but then... I was interested in this FMC, who had been included enough in the previous volume to get me curious. The plot of repatriating stolen or less-than-ethically sourced Middle Eastern art, complete with a PoC as the MMC, sounded like a great set-up! The execution was not stellar, sadly.

Fans of the series will be pleased with how much screen time is devoted to the three previous heroines, with cameos by their significant others. The epilogue is also set nearly 40 years after the events of the series, with the 1918 vote including all the heroines voting legally and surrounded by their various children and grandchildren. While this does give a more complete wrap-up to the series, the heroine felt like a smaller main character instead of having as large a starring role. It's a shame, because the FMC is coded ND, possible ASD, and some kind of LGBTQ, possibly bi or curious.

The writing was so-so. I found myself zoning out and skipping/scanning. Not every book needs to have entrancing language, but this was decidedly forgettable, except for the slang or more modern-sounding phrases that stood out as out of place.

A good draft, but needs more polish. Established fans will want to read this to close out the series, but the series shouldn't be read out of order. Readers who aren't great at remembering a lot of character details over time will want to read the series fairly close together (whatever that means for the individual reader), as a lot of narration is devoted to characters from previous installments.

eARC from NetGalley.

The political topic of the repatriation of culturally significant artifacts is interesting because of its contemporary relevance. I think the book does as much as it can to serve its stance on the issue while also still hitting the other elements of its genre. The history is a little dry, though.

For me, the romance kind of waffled. I feel fair in saying that I liked Elias, Catriona's love interest, but I also don't really know why. Compared to the three other love interests in this series, he's a bit mild. The chemistry between this couple faded in and out.

I did like getting to know Catriona better, though. She was always the group member I was most interested in, so I wasn't super stoked that three chapters (plus a series epilogue) were dedicated to each of the three previous couples. Seemed a bit like flower Catriona was still being plastered to her wall.

Overall, this one fell a little flat. 3.5 but I'll round up to 4.

What a delightful way to round out a series! I loved Catriona's story, and saw a lot of familiar traits in her character.

Elias was lovely, the overarching suffrage plot continued to be excellent, and being back in the company of these extraordinary women was wonderful.

All in all, a real delight!

I’ve read all of Evie Dunmore’s books in this series, and this one didn’t disappoint! I love her ever-present feminist angle and that the main character had some sensory issues. I also liked the exploration of her previous loved when she was much younger and how those experiences informed her present. I don’t read a ton of romance, but when I do, Dunmore is one of my top go-tos! Thanks, NetGalley!